- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Wednesday, June 7, 2023:
The Narendra Modi cabinet chaired by the prime minister himself on Wednesday approved the third revival package for the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) telecom company with a total financial outlay of Rs 89,047 crore (£8.6 billion), ANI reported. It includes an allotment of 4G/5G spectrum for BSNL. With the package, the government expects BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to the remotest parts of India. Telecom is a strategic sector and the presence of BSNL in the telecom market acts as a market balancer. The government had in 2019 and 2022 approved the first and second revival packages for BSNL/MTNL worth Rs 69,000 crore (£6.7 billion) and Rs 1.64 lakh crore (£15.9 billion), respectively.
A key G20 working group on finance discussed a host of issues, including strengthening multilateral development banks to address global challenges of the 21st century and bolstering international financial safety net, during its two-day meeting that concluded here in Goa on Wednesday, PTI reported. The meeting of the third G20 International Finance Architecture Working Group (IFAWG), co-chaired by South Korea and France, discussed key priority areas of the group. India currently holds the presidency of G20, an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies, and has been holding meetings of various working groups in states and Union territories.
US multinational Starbucks has focused on revamping its strategy to lure Indians, including children, with smaller, cheaper beverages as it looks to expand in small towns amid a fierce challenge from domestic startups in one of its fastest-growing markets, Reuters reported. Among the first foreign coffee brands to enter the tea-loving South Asian nation, the giant has taken almost 11 years to open 343 stores, unlike the private equity-backed chains Third Wave and Blue Tokai that opened about 150 in the last three years. “As you grow in size, you need to get new consumers,” Sushant Dash, the chief executive of Starbucks in India told the news outlet, adding that the chain’s “pricing play” would help break a perception that it is expensive. Starbucks plans to open more stores in smaller towns, an industry source said on the condition of anonymity, Reuters added.
India will be the first country to manufacture and sell the all new Honda SUV Elevate globally, ANI reported. Honda’s latest SUV had its global unveiling on Tuesday at a world premiere event held in the national capital. Elevate, a mid-size SUV with six airbags, is scheduled for launch during this festive season. While the initial introduction of Elevate is focused on the domestic market, it will subsequently serve as an important export hub for the new model to other parts of the world. Elevate is the first SUV among five new premium SUVs planned to be launched by Honda in India by 2030.
Indian minister of state in the department of space and atomic energy Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said lesser explored areas such as ocean resources and space will do value addition in the future economy of the country, PTI reported. Addressing a meeting in Mainpuri in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, he said one of the hallmarks of prime minister Narendra Modi’s approach towards the economy has been that he has reinforced and strengthened the existing pillars of the economy by imposing a check on pilferage or malpractice and reduced a load of avoidable restrictions and regulations for ease of business.
India’s Union Cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved metro connectivity from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City in Gurugram in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh with a spur line to Dwarka Expressway, ANI reported. Briefing the media about the cabinet decisions, Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal said the project will cost Rs 5,452 crore (£530.7 million). The entire metro line covering 28.5 kilometres will be elevated and the project is expected to be completed in four years.
